The ATP and WTA tours have come under fire for “killing” tennis players’ bodies. Vasek Pospisil claimed that tennis officials were trying to slow down the game with heavier tennis balls, injuring athletes in the process. And two retired players revealed that they had long-term issues because of the balls they used.
The US Open has been without some big names this year as some of the sport’s stars remain sidelined due to injury. Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios have barely played this year while 2014 runner-up Kei Nishikori pulled out on the eve of the tournament.
On the women’s side, 2021 champion Emma Raducanu is still recovering after having surgery in May following a long-term wrist injury. And former world No 2 Paula Badosa shut down her season because of a stress fracture in her back.
The tennis tour are now facing pushback from several current and former players who believe their decisions are causing the physical issues. On Sunday, 2014 Wimbledon doubles champion Pospisil tweeted: “There were discussions a few years back that the ATP/WTA wanted to “slow the game down” to have longer points for fans.
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“The balls have been getting incrementally heavier and surprise surprise, it’s killing our bodies. Almost every player I’ve spoken to feels the same way. I’ve never seen more wrist, elbow, and shoulder injuries in the locker room. If these changes to the ball don’t start getting reversed, it’s only going to get worse. Please start listening @atptour @wtatour. Player injuries are bad for you too.”
The Canadian’s colleagues have been flocking to share their agreement, as several players admitted that the heavier tennis balls gave them long-term injury problems. Former world No 6 Mardy Fish claimed the tennis balls had been an issue for years, leaving him struggling to play a simple game of catch.
“This can’t be more spot on,” the retired American star said. “I struggled with my arm every day because of the different weight of the balls week to week. Need 15 minutes to warm my arm up now just to play catch with my son.”
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Noah Rubin – a junior Wimbledon champion who now runs Behind The Racquet – said he was left “destroyed” by the toll the different tennis balls took on his arm. The 27-year-old added: “Such an underrated topic. Nothing worse than not knowing how the ball is going to feel week after week. Has destroyed my arm.”
While Pospisil lost in the qualifying event at this year’s US Open and failed to make the main draw, the former world No 25 is well aware of the issues he and his fellow players face. In 2020, he co-founded the Professional Tennis Players’ Association with Novak Djokovic.
And their calls for lower-ranked colleagues to be given better financial security were recently answered by the ATP, who introduced a new minimum wage-style system for players in the world’s top 250. With Pospisil now causing a stir over the heavy tennis balls, he will be hoping that the tennis tours once again listen and take action.
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